MTV Pinoy has three brand-new VJs

After a four-month talent search, cable music channel MTV Pinoy has added three new VJs to its current roster, which includes Andre Paras, Sam Pinto, Yassi Pressman, Josh Padilla and Shy Carlos.

Video blogger Aryanna Epperson, 18; singer Kito Romualdez, 21; and radio DJ Chris Schneider, 26, bested five other finalists during the results night of the 2014 MTV VJ Hunt last Friday at Le Pavillon in Metropolitan Park, Pasay City.

Aryanna, a De La Salle University marketing management freshman, said joining the search shattered her preconceived notions.

“I underestimated the work; it’s more than just delivering spiels,” Aryanna noted.

Chris Schneider

She figured the toughest hurdle will be juggling work and studies. “But I’m hardworking,” she said. Aryanna dreams of interviewing the remaining Beatles.

Kito, who grew up in Canada, said he returned to the Philippines to pursue a career in show biz. “I hope being a VJ gives me more exposure and opens more doors for me,” said the budding recording artist, who is managed by Gabby Concepcion. “I’d love to get into TV and movies.”

Music guide

As a singer himself, Kito said he hoped, as a VJ, to “guide audiences into listening to better music.” He bagged, along with Aryanna, the Mentos Coolest VJ special award.

A DJ at RX 93.1, Schneider— as he prefers to be called—said working for radio was good training for becoming a VJ, because it honed his communication skills. “Being on TV is an entirely different game. I can’t mess around,” said the Filipino-American who came to the country only three years ago.

Chasing his goals in the Philippines proved to be difficult, Schneider admitted. “I faced a lot of rejections. As a result, I’ve become more mature and experienced.”

For the final challenge, the VJ hopefuls were given on-the-spot tasks that tested their hosting skills and knowledge of pop culture. Aryanna was asked to do an on-the-spot commentary on a Macklemore & Ryan Lewis gig; Kito, a Kesha concert. Schneider introduced a Maroon 5 music video.

MTV Pinoy channel head Andrew de Castro said 35 percent of the scores were based on the contestants’ performance in the live test (creativity, spontaneity, speaking ability, personality and audience impact), 50 percent on the results of previous challenges and 15 percent on text votes.

Aryanna Epperson

Other finalists

The other finalists were Anton Mercado (Texter’s Choice special awardee), Carla Lizardo, Sarah Edwards, Erika Westly and Mickey Regala. De Castro said that thousands of aspiring VJs turned up for auditions in Manila, Cebu City, Cagayan de Oro and Angeles City earlier this year.

All three winners have great potential, De Castro said, and will continue to train in polishing their hosting skills. New shows will be conceptualized around the new VJs’ personalities, he added.

“We could have just opted to tap celebrities, but we wanted fresh faces, young people who are actually part of the MTV audience,” he said.

The talent search was MTV Pinoy’s first major event after its return on air last February.

(The channel, then called MTV Philippines, folded in 2010.)

The exec likewise pointed out that the VJ Hunt was a step toward rebuilding the MTV brand in the country.

Kito Romualdez

“The channel currently operates for 14 hours a day. But we’re expanding our programming and working on making MTV Pinoy a 24-hour channel, hopefully, before year’s end,” De Castro said.

Hosted by VJs Andre, Shy and Yassi, the event featured performances from artists and TV personalities like actor Matteo Guidicelli, R&B singers Kyla and JayR, rapper Shehyee, and rock bands Generation and Sponge Cola.

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*Photos courtesy of Viva Interactive